Russia issues insult, cuts Belarus' power

Thursday

Jun 30, 2011 at 12:01 AMJun 30, 2011 at 9:55 AM

MOSCOW - Russia's irritation with its neighbor Belarus became more apparent yesterday after a state-controlled television station broadcast a documentary damning the Belarusian president for mismanaging the economy, after which a Russian utility cut off about an eighth of the country's electricity, claiming it had not been paid.

MOSCOW - Russia's irritation with its neighbor Belarus became more apparent yesterday after a state-controlled television station broadcast a documentary damning the Belarusian president for mismanaging the economy, after which a Russian utility cut off about an eighth of the country's electricity, claiming it had not been paid.

A Belarusian utility was able to compensate with other sources of electricity, and no blackouts were reported.

Russia, an on-again-off-again ally of its former Soviet confederate, has picked economic fights with Belarus and the iron-fisted president, Alexander Lukashenko, before, including blocking its dairy products from the Russian market in what is known as the milk war. Relations have worsened, with disputes over loans and Russian pressure on Belarus to privatize its industries.

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